This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in toy player devices capable of swinging at a playing ball and, more particularly, to toy playing games which utilize one or more of these toy player devices.
Small articulated playing devices representing human characters in athletic activities are used extensively in various toy games to simulate various athletic activities and provide play activity for children. Many of these playing devices have portions which are actuable by the child players in order to engage a playing piece, such as a playing ball.
One of the prior art games, which is representative of a simulated baseball game, and which utilizes such player devices relies upon a pedestal secured to a base plate for holding a playing ball. A player device, representative of a baseball batter, is also mounted on the plate in fixed relationship to the pedestal and can be actuated to cause an outwardly projecting element, representative of the bat, to engage the playing ball. In this form of game device, there is little, if any, competitive activity and little skill is required.
Some of these athletic player devices, representative of athletic characters, are energized by means of spring mechanisms, as for example, a simple spring wind-up mechanism. Thus, one such commercially available player device operates by rotating the upstanding player portion on a base member in order to create stored energy in a wind-up spring. The player can then rotate on the base plate upon release of a push-button actuating switch.
Other prior art game devices may also employ a pair of game player devices arranged to be operated by two players of the game in a more competitive nature. However, this form of playing game provides a game board in which the player devices are mounted on the game board for limited movement, as for example, a goalie tending a goal in a simulated hockey game. Again, in other forms of games which simulate, for example, tennis, the player devices are also movable, but only movable in limited and confined paths on the playing board.
These latter forms of game devices, while effective for their intended purpose, rely more on an element of chance and require less skill of the players of the game. In addition, these games are not very effective in teaching the players how to use manipulative skills.
The present invention obviates these and other problems in the provision of a pair of player devices each representative of an athletic baseball player. One of these player devices, representative of a baseball pitcher, is capable of propelling the playing ball toward the other of the player devices, representing a baseball batter. The player devices can each be operated by a different player of the game. The batter device may be freely moved about on a supporting surface and not within any limited or confined path or area. Thus, the batter device can be moved into a position so that an outwardly extending element, representative of a bat, can be swung to engage the playing ball. This second player device is uniquely designed so that the player of the game merely pushes downwardly on the head of the second player device to cause the bat to rotate in a generally horizontal arcuate path, and thereby engage the playing ball. In this way, the second player device does not require any stored energy for operation.